


When We Were Young

by solangelokisses



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, tried to make the events super canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 08:09:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6649495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solangelokisses/pseuds/solangelokisses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Will and Nico had met when Nico first came to the camp? Well, it would have went something like this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When We Were Young

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i tried to make this follow the ages and events of the story as well as possible! so enjoy! and please please give feedback! all the charcters belong to rick riordan (except will belongs to nico and nic0 belongs to will)

Will noticed when his father drove in with Percy Jackson and the Hunters. Heck, the whole camp had noticed. He was curious, to say the least, as to why his dad, who rarely answered his own sons prayers, would cater to driving around a couple of kids. But he was sure his father had his reasons. And so he watched as the whole troop of them exited the vehicle and as one little dark haired figure bounced around Percy, looking like he was chattering nonstop.

It wasn't until the next day that he would meet said little figure. 

The capture the flag game was in full swing, but Will didn't care much for it. It reminded him of war too much, of wars his fellow campers got excited about facing. But he did notice his little figure from the previous day standing at the edge of the field looking unsure, one arm holding the other, like he was holding himself up. Will was supposed to be on look out for enemies, but he really couldn't care less. So he walked over to little-dark-figure and finally got a look at the kid. His hair was raven and his skin was the tan, olive tone that stayed so all year and got richly caramel during the summer. He had rich brown eyes and skinny little legs and arms. He was just a kid, like Will. Probably no more than nine or maybe ten, a year younger then Wills ten-going-on-eleven years old self. He definitely looked smaller than Will, scrawny while Will was already starting to fill out and shoot up like a bean sprout. But his eyes… they looked older than the rest of him. So Will talked to this boy, curious.

"Hi, I'm Will", he said, his classic mega-watt smile on display, a southern twang in his voice. Will was a naturally friendly person. The boy looked up with squinted eyes and tight line of a mouth that quickly turned into wide eyes and a gaped mouth. "You look just like Apollo!" the boy exclaimed. Will giggled, he got that a lot. "Well that makes sense, considering he's my dad." Will replied.

"OhmygodsocanyoudrivethecarhesaidIcould'ntbecauseI'mtooyoungohmygodcanyouliveonthesundoyouwakeupearlydoyou-" "Kid, you're gonna have to slow down!" Will said smiling. This kid was too cute. Dark-figure-kid took a big breath and looked expectingly at Will. "Let's start off with a name. As in what is yours?" The son of Apollo asked with a gentle smile. "Nico!", his child's voice rang, "Nico di Angelo!" "Nico di Angelo, ay? Well, Nico di Angelo, as I take it you're new here, why don't we blow this Popsicle stand and I'll show you around the place?". Will didn't know why he would take the time to show this random boy who had just showed up around the place, but when he had seen Nico standing all alone he had felt sadness. Nico di Angelo seemed frighteningly alone. And Will was going to remedy that, just as he did with most things. So with a happy, excited bob from Nicos head, Will loosely gripped his dark-little-figure-named-Nico around the wrist and pulled him in tow, not noticing Nicos awe-filled look at the back of his golden head. 

Will noticed over the next few days that Nicos sister left, along with Percy Jackson and the Hunters, but Nico didn't seem too worried. They were having much too much fun to be worried. Nico had taught Will all about his favorite game,mythomagic, and they spent hours upon hours playing that. And when they weren't playing that they were running around the camp with the few others that still remained. They practiced dueling (Will letting Nico win much to his little hearts delight), rode the pegasi (Nico had ridden horses before, but he couldn't remember when which Will thought was weird), and just goofed around. Will was happy to have the company. Most of the campers who stayed were older kids and the two who weren't older were 6 and 7, not exactly someone Will could hang out with. Nico was the perfect age. He was just young enough that he thought Will was super cool for knowing all the stuff about the camp (although maybe Nico just thought Will was super cool for being Will, but he would never say that out loud) but old enough that they could relate to each other in ways only two preteen boys could. And Nico was just glad Will wanted him around him at all. That Percy boy had been cool, but not very nice. Plus he needed to go protect his sister since Nico couldn't. So Nico and Will had fun together. 

One particular night two and a half weeks into Nicos stay and after a day filled with mythomagic and giggles, they snuck out of the cabin (Nico had been staying in Apollo, even though he was supposed to be Hermes, but Chiron pretended not to notice) well after the harpies had done a check of the cabins. They were much more relaxed during the school year with so little campers there. Will had woken up Nico and told him to throw on a jacket as he grinned brightly. And of course, Nico couldn't get that jacket on fast enough. Will grabbed Nicos hand and brought him to the back of the cabin, the side that faced the forest and pointed to the night sky. "Look", he barely breathed out. The sky was an inky black, a lot like Nicos hair, Will thought. But that wasn't the most beautiful part. What was were the shooting stars that swam across the sky with bright hues of yellows and whites and hints of reds and oranges. Nico stared up in wonder, while Will stared at the mesmerized boys face. He sat and gestured to the ground beside him in which Nico quickly sat on, their hands still holding each other's, not intertwined, but in a childlike way, cupping each other's hands. 

Eventually, a few minutes passed and Nico laid back and Will followed suit. "Thankyou Sunshine," Nico said as he smiled over at Will. He had christened Apollos son that earlier that day, when the sun had shone brightly throw his hair creating a bright, halo effect. In return to the thanks, Will simply squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile, thinking of all the fun him and Nico were going to have together that they hadn't had yet. In Nicos head it was one of the last perfect days he had. The whole camp heard the ground spilt open, but no one believed it had been sweet little Nico who did it. No one believed he could banish away the skeletons that had tried to harm Percy. No one except Will. Will knew Nico was a lot more than people thought. He was quick witted and smarted and kind and funny and cool and… Will snapped out of it. Nico is my friend, he told himself. He wasn't sure why he was feeling all these weird feelings towards Nico, so he decided to ignore them. But still, he knew Nico wasn't stupid enough to just leave the camp without supplies or a plan. Or without telling him, Will thought. 

So he marched himself to the supposedly empty Apollo cabin and sat on his bed. "Oh, Nico," he called in a singsong voice. Will was always singing, even though he lacked that talent from his father, and Nico thought that that fact was just about the funniest thing he'd ever heard. So Will sang Nicos name all the time, mostly just a little mantra of the two syllable name, but would over exaggerate just to get the nice little laughs out of the smaller boy. "Scared?" Will heard a voice and snapped his head to the side to see his Nico standing there, looking different than he'd ever seen him. His face was cast with a dark shadow, although from what object, Will couldn't tell. "Well, a little considering you came out of no where! But other than that why would I be?" He questioned. Nico let out a bitter laugh. It didn't sound right compared to his usual tinkling giggle. "Mm maybe because I controlled skeletons, opened the earth, and almost hurt The great Percy Jackson?" He said sarcastically. "Nico, you could never in a million years scare me. You're my little buddy." Will had taken to called Nico that around the same time Nico started to call him Sunshine, even though they were practically the same age, Nico was just so little and cute that Will couldn't help it. And as Will said that, Nico let go of the air in his body and crumpled to the floor. "She's gone", he sobbed, "Percy let her die. She's gone and now I'm alone." Will ran over and wrapped his arms around the fragile boy, putting his head on top on his. "Oh no, Nico, no no you're not alone", Will said into his hair, "You're not alone because I'm here." They fell asleep like that, Will slowly rocking Nico back and forth and humming very quietly, so quietly no tunes could go off note. And when Will awoke on the floor with a fluffy blanket wrapped around him and with the sun barely risen, Nico was gone and Will whispered a very quiet, "Happy birthday to me" to the empty cabin around him. 

Will didn't hear from Nico until the next two winters later, a full two years from the last time he had saw him. Will had tried to Iris Message him plenty of times, but it went automatically to say Nico was not available. So Will let Nico be after the hundredth call. Will had grown in the two years that Nico had left. He had more freckles and had grown at least 7 inches. His hair skimmed his ears in little waves and curls that shone like the sun. Like the namesake Nico had given him. Will thought about Nico a lot. When he was dueling someone he would think of his little buddys laugh or when he would pass the pile of mythomagic cards that lay untouched on his bedside table (He would threaten anyone who even attempted to tidy the cards). And tomorrow was Wills birthday. Meaning today marked two years that Nico had learned of his sisters death. Will said a quick prayer in her honor (his mother was very religious and he still had some of those habits instilled in him) when he had awoken that day and then bounded down to the infirmary. He spent a lot of time there, even though during the school year (especially since it was December and people went home for the holidays) there were few people who needed aid. He was in training to become head medic in a few years and was advancing fairly quickly. He had familiarized himself with the surroundings and barely even had to lift his head anymore to know exactly where he was going in the place. So when Will walked into supposedly empty building, he got quite a fright when he heard a very hollow and weak sounding, "Hello, Sunshine". Will practically jumped out of his skin and looked at his surroundings, but saw no one. That happened sometimes though. He thought he saw Nico running across the strawberry field or lying on the ground watching the stars. But then he heard someone clear their throat. Now he was spooked. Had he actually heard something or was he going off his rocker? Yet another clearing of a throat proved no, no he was not going off his rocker. Because just then, Nico di Angelo stepped out of a shadow and promptly collapsed. 

When Nico finally came to, a very bright object obscured his vision. He was not used to bright things, having spent the last two years in the Underworld and other lowly places. But it was only Wills head peering over him, with the sunlight from a nearby window streaming in onto his head, making a perfect little halo of sunshine. 

Will had no idea what to do after Nico dropped. He was turning thirteen tomorrow (and he was very proud of turning that old thankyou very much) and had been training as an apprentice for two years and had no idea what to do with a collapsed patient. Good Grief, he thought. Finally his instincts took control and he lifted the frightening light weighted dark haired boy onto a nearby bed. Will took Nicos vitals and gave him a quick once over as best as he could with the clothes Nico had on. A simple black t-shirt and charcoal black skinny jeans that were tight as could be with rips up and down the lower leg. Nicos skin had become riddled with scars and scratches. Will shed a few tears as he saw the amount of ones that had definitely gone untreated properly. He looked at Nico and still saw the same adorable little boy who had come in chattering excitedly behind the Great Percy Jackson, yet Will also saw more. He saw a boy who had gone through more troubled he could count and a boy with the most perfect hair and the most daintiest hands he'd ever seen. So as he thought about this, he also thought about what he wanted to say to Nico once he awoke. 

And a few minutes later Nicos eyes opened. And boy, did Will have somethings to say. 

The first thing Nico heard as he awakened was Will Solaces voice. It was a welcomed sound after not seeing his best friend for two years. 

"Nico di Angelo. You ignore me, leave me, abandon me for the better part of two full years and come back like this? Are you insane? What have you even been doing! Gods, Nico!". All of this was said in a single breathe from the golden haired boy and Nico could only stare. 

Will had gotten beautiful. Nico was only twelve years old and had only known one other boy to truly catch his eye, said boy being Percy Jackson (and even then something felt off when he looked at the dark haired boy, like Percy wasn't exactly to his liking... Nico had absolutely no idea what could be missing) but Will... Will was something different. His freckles spread out from his button nose and his hair touched the tips of his ears in golden-yellow hues. His eyes were the color of the sky just as it hit blue in the morning, bright yet still shy with yellow streaks and flecks. How had Nico never noticed before? 

Will was exasperated as Nico sat with his mouth wide open. "Well, are you going to say something or are you going to go leave again?"

Nico spoke a full sentence for the first time since being here. "Maybe I'll do just that," Nico replied and swung his legs over the infirmary table and stumbling as he attempted to stand. 

Will moved quickly, pushing the other boys slight frame back down onto the mattress firmly, yet with a softness he didn't know he was capable of. 

"Oh no, no, no. I've just got you back and I don't plan on losing you again any time soon," Will said, looking straight into Nicos eyes. "Well, sounds like you're in for a nasty surprise. I only came here because I had no idea where else to turn. I just needed a little help," Nico replied determinedly. 

But Will was not about to be satisfied with that answer. 

"Nico," He said, his eyes squinting slightly at his returned friend.

"Will," Nico said back. And thus the staring contest began. It lasted for a full five minutes before Nico let out a loud giggle and blinked from doing so. Will never felt more proud of himself in his life. 

"So will you stay?," Will pleadingly said, earnest eyes a glow. "Will, I can't. I'd love to, but I can't. You know they'd all hate me and… and there are some things I have to do," Nico was firm with his words, making it clear to Will. And Will knew deep down in his heart that Nico had to go, even though they were both two young kids. Something told him that Nico was not supposed to be at camp, not yet, but one day. But he would try his damned hardest.

"Then stay until tomorrow. Please. It's my birthday and you've never been around for one!" Nicos face quickly filled with guilt. 

"You mean to say that when I left before, I left the day before your birthday?" Will didn't want to answer, for he knew Nico would instantly feel bad, overly bad for missing his birthday. But maybe if Nico felt bad he would stay a little longer. So Will put on his classic puppy dog face and looked right into Nicos eyes.

"Well, yeah, actually. I just wanted to spend my birthday with one person and that person left. But now that person is back and is trying to leave again!" Will actually meant that. He just wanted Nico. As a best friend of course. Nico hesitated before sinking down slowly into the blankets will had placed around him. "O-okay. I'll stay, just for a little bit of tomorrow though." Will pumped his arm into the air with excitement and let out a gigantic WHOOP! His best friend would be there for his birthday! 

The two companions spent the rest of the day eating and fixing up Nicos many injuries and eating some more (mostly Will making Nico eat every hour) and talking about what had gone on between the last two years. Nicos tale was bit more tremendous. Will had just been learning under Apollos head counselor and being a normal teenage boy (well as normal as a demigod teenage boy could be). Nico had been through hell. Literally. He'd been talking to his dad and doing tasks and discovering his own powers and moping and mourning and not being able to be a normal kid because there was always just so much on his shoulders and sometimes Nico swore he was just gonna lay down under a tree one day and close his eyes and never open them again because goddamnit why did Bianca leave him and why couldn't Percy save the one person he truly cared about.

And when Nico said this all Will could do was listen and sit in the not-so-comfortable infirmary bed and slowly bring his arms around the smaller boy and hold him close until by the end Nicos head was in the little crook in Wills neck right at his collar bone and his nose skimmed Wills skin and Will decided right then and there that he had been created to be a pillow for a boy named Nico di Angelo. 

So eventually after many hours of holding each other the two boys drifted off to sleep, Wills arms holding Nicos tiny waist with his head in his best friends hair and Nicos head still resting on Wills neck with his arms clutching the back of Wills shirt, both falling asleep with the scent of each other filling their noses.

When Will woke up he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. Had his only true friend stayed for his thirteenth birthday? He slowly opened his eyes and saw- yes! He had stayed! Will had his arms splayed out, one underneath Nicos body and the other hanging off the bed as Nico still held his shirt like a life line. He wrapped his arms around the other boy carefully, so he wouldn't stir. 

"Please give him supplies before he leaves." 

Will snapped his head up and saw Chiron standing in all his centaur glory with a melancholy smile. He quickly resettled so Nico wouldn't awaken. "Chiron! I'm sorry, I know this is totally inappropriate, but he was just so and I couldn't and I had to help and I'm so sorry, we're only friends I swear I shouldn't have-" Will quickly tried to stammer out a response, but Chiron cut him off. 

"William! It is fine. This poor boy needed a friend. And I believe it is your birthday today. So I will pretend I didn't see this. However, you will find many things that will perhaps aid a certain son of Hades in his tough challenges ahead, in the front of the infirmary," Chiron still had the sad smile as he told Will this. Will could barely breathe so he quietly said "Thankyou", Chiron hearing all the other words behind it. "And a very happy birthday to you, son of Apollo." And with that he closed the door softly and did whatever duties he needed to be doing, pretending he hadn't seen two boys who needed a friend more than anyone in the world finally refind each other. Because he knew it would not be that way again for a very long time. 

When Nico woke up it was to Will Solaces face with a soft smile staring down at him. "Happy birthday", he whispered to his friend, happy he was here to celebrate it with him. Will just gave a smile in thanks. The two boys lazed around all day, doing some eating and playing Mythomagic. Nico raised an eyebrow at the scattered pile on Wills night table and Will could do nothing but blush lightly and mumble something about not having the time to clean it up. As the day wandered along, Will became anxious and Nico could sense it. They were best friends after all.

"Sunshine, what could possibly be so wrong? It's your birthday and I'm here!" Nico asked, bumping Wills shoulder lightly with his own as the sat side by side on Wills bright yellow sheets on his bed, their backs on the wall. Will sighed.

"That's exactly it. I don't want you to leave, but I know you're going to", Will let out pitifully. Nico stiffened and let out a puff of angry air. "See, this is why I didn't want to stay for this long because it would start getting to your head. Will, I can't stay and you know it." Will was frustrated. 

"Why not! People missed you! You're just a kid! You can't just trapeze off on your own!" Will had turned to face Nico as he said this, his arms waving wildly and his face progressively growing more heated. His best friend couldn't leave him again. But Nico couldn't see what Will saw. 

"Everyone was afraid of me! Who wants someone who can call skeletons to life and crack open the earth? No one does! And I'm not a kid! I'll be thirteen by next month!" Nico was sick and tired of being rejected and he wasn't about to stay at the camp and have that happen all over again. His own sister hadn't wanted him. His father thought it should've been him that died. His mother... well he didn't know she thought of him, but he was sure it something similar. Him not being good enough, him being a weirdo. 

Will wasn't having any of that though. "Nico, I missed you more than anything! You know what I did on my eleventh birthdays? I cried! And my twelfth? Sulked! Because you didn't return any calls and I didn't know where you were and I didn't know if it was my fault and your powers were so mesmerizing to me and gods Nico you're the best friend I've ever had!" By this time Will was crying and he didn't care. It was true. Nico was his best friend and no one could ever full that spot. Sure, him and Lou Ellen were becoming close and Cecil was always around for a good laugh, but it was never the same as having Nico around. Nico simply shook his head and took Wills hand in his own. "Will, you're the closest person I've ever gotten to besides my own sister. But you have to understand that I don't belong here right now, okay? But I promise, I swear, that I'll be here for your next birthday? And one day, we'll celebrate one of my birthdays together, okay?" Nico smiled at Will softly, hoping to help stop the flow of tears on his companions face. And it did, a little bit. Will sighed and knew he couldn't do anything to stop Nico from going. So he decided to enjoy the last few hours they had together until the next year, as the sun has disappeared and night had fallen. He laid down on the bed and patted the space next to him and Nico complied. And so, just as the night before, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace fell asleep closely together, the two best friends the world had seen. 

And when Will awoke, Nico was gone. 

And the next year, on Wills fourteenth birthday, he didn't see Nico. He'd gotte upnextra early and walk up to the infirmary and check each and every bed to see if a dark haired boy lay in one of them. And he didn't find a single soul. 

It was the summer before his fifteenth birthday that the Battle of Manhattan happened. He was scared. But he had to be on field, not only to fight with his siblings, but to save the many wounded. Percy Jackson announced the Battle was happening and he needed a healer from Apollo. He rode on a motorcycle with the Percy Jackson. The hero quickly brought Will to Annabeth, who owed him a chariot (he would remember that). Her wound was easy to treat and Will thought Percy might be over reacting, but then by looking at the way Percy and Annabeth looked at each other he understood why. He left to go see more wounded among the battle and continued to heal, exerting more energy than ever (he felt near ready to collapse, but he could stop now there were too many people he had to help). He didn't rest until later that day in a nearby hotel kitchen. Tons of campers were there, stuffing food down their throats. The battle was worse by the time he went back outside the next day and he was exhausted. He just wanted to sleep and not worry about a raging war and heal injuries that came from fun and games. But that was not what was needed at the moment. Everyone had a purpose and his just happened to be healing. He wondered where his older sibling was, Michael, he was always so good at giving supporting words and he could use some. Alas, he was not to be found within the wreckage of the street at the moment, so Will continued to heal, looking for people who were injured. 

But Will did not expect to see Nico among the fighting and wounded.

He watched as his old best friend make dozens upon dozens of skeletons rise from the earth and began to part through the crowd, clearly on a mission. Will didn't stop and try to yell out for him, but simply continued to work on the patient in front of him, a Party Pony had stepped on the girls toe and broken it, one of the smallest injuries he'd dealt with so far. He'd wanted to go treat another girl with blood dripping down her head but the daughter of Ares in front of him had shrilled out that he had to fix her because "he was the best Apollo had". One of his other siblings handled the bleeding Aphrodite girl and he was stuck with this whining one who wouldn't stop batting her eyelashes at him. "Is that that Nico kid? Gods, he's such a creepy guy", the girl said, looking at Will expectantly, like he was supposed to agree. "Ow!" She shouted as Will popped her bone back into place without the slightest warning. He gave a sickly sweet smile at the Ares girl and said with an even voice, "That boy right there is my best friend and the bravest person in the world." He wrapped up her toe in the little materials he had left and waved her away. She hobbled away quickly, obviously not wanted to upset Will more. 

He continued his work, helping more wounded, but everything seemed to freeze in place once Hades entered the scene, a little circle of him, Nico, Percy Jackson, and a boy Will recognized as Luke, an old camper. Apparently that was who Kronos inhabited. It made Will feel funny inside, sad. But that was not the main focus. The street felt frozen, Will thought he would never be warm again. He brainstormed thoughts of the sun and lying underneath it's rays, writing poems and felt his body regain a slight warmth. Apollos kid luck. This helped him get back to work quickly. Soon the scene continued to change. Mortals all around him woke up and horror was in the air. Hades dead began to fight and Nico was in his blazing glory. He slashed and twisted and turned with a grace Will had never seen before. He saw Nico talk to Percy Jackson with a certain look in his eyes, the same one Nico would have when talking to Will and felt like he was punched in the gut. So, Percy is Nicos best friend, Will thought to himself. But Will had more important things to worry about. He was popping bones back in place left and right, stitching cuts faster than he thought he ever could, singing so so many hymns that his mouth was going dry, all while attempting to yell at mortals to get to safety. Will even had to use his bow and arrows a few times when monsters came too close. He was beyond a point of stressed out. He was on his last bits of strength. And suddenly everything dropped.

Literally.

All the monsters just dropped like something had shut off their energy source. Will noticed that Percy, Annabeth, and Luke/Kronos were no where to be found. Or Nico. He was scared. He was really scared. Where could he have gone? Was he hurt? Will didn't think he could stand himself if Nico was hurt and he hadn't been there to help the smaller boy, although Nico hadn't looked like he needed much help while he was fighting off all those monsters, side by side with his father, in his greatest glory. Nico had looked... beautiful. 

Dark yet beautiful, in a radiating sort of way. And so as many campers began to hobble their ways towards hotels and hop on the few remaining Party Ponies, Will found a nice, comfy bench that was under a single ray of sunlight with his arms tucked behind his head and drifted off to sleep. 

He was woken up by a "Hey, Kid" in what felt like a few minutes later. However, the sky had turned a deep orange with violet hues beginning to show, this being seen through his cabin window. He looked around him to see his father standing in front of him. "Hey, dad", Will said with a nonchalant smile. He didn't see Apollo often, but when he did it was always quick chats about nothing special. But Apollo was always very good about replying to Wills prayers in the last few years. Will didn't want to say he was a favorite, but he was high up on his fathers list. His father smiled at him before speaking, "Some kid of Hades was asking for you. Said if you wanted to talk to meet him in the place you looked at stars? I don't know, the kid seemed weird." Apollo chuckled, more to himself than Will. "Thanks for the message", Will said, thinking it better than to argue with a god over the weirdness of Nico di Angelo.

Apollo looked hesitant and sat on the bed. "Your brother, Michael. He died. I'm sorry, he was a great kid." Will felt fat, hot tears well up in his eyes, gliding down his face. With a shaky breath, he put his head in his hands and sobbed. An apprehensive Apollo rubbed his shoulder slightly and Will could feel the awkwardness rolling off of his father. He rolled his shoulders up and wiped his face. "It's apart of war. I'll keep his honor by always, always healing the best I can." Will said determinedly, looking at his father. Apollo gave him a clap on the back and a stern nod, obviously proud. 

As Will got up to walk and freshen up (wipe the year tracks off his face) before leaving the cabin to meet his dark-haired-figure, he felt a tug on his shoulder. He turned and felt a warmth as his father gave him a quick embrace and than held him at an arms length away. 

"You did good today, kid. Take care", And with that the young god walked out the cabin to who knows where and who knows why. Will just gave a smile to his fathers back and whispered a tiny thanks.

And with that he walked out of the cabin into the cool night air to go to a place where he once watched stars with a very special boy.

Will saw a few friends on the way and waved and people gave him thumbs up and smiles or encouragement. He had done a lot during the battle. He had also been appointed to new Apollo head counselor at the same time. His brother was dead. He was exhausted. And now his old best friend wanted to see him after another two years of ignoring him.

He walked behind the cabin to see Nico lying down on the ground, staring up at the side. Will lay next to him without saying a word, the scene feeling very familiar. Will did not want to speak first so he waited for Nico to.

"I missed you", Nico said. Will just turned his head and stared at the boy. He looked exhausted but had a slight smile. Will grabbed Nicos hand and squeezed it, putting into more words than he could have by speaking. Nico threaded their fingers together and they both watched the stars. 

"My father said he was proud of me today." Nico whispered. Will turned his head and saw that Nico wasn't looking at Will, but Will could still see the Italian boys cheeks turn a light pink with pride. 

"He should be. You're amazing, Nico", saying this as he shuffled over and pulled Nico into him, wanting to feel his best friends embrace. And Nicos face fit right in the crook of Wills neck, like he was supposed to go there. Will heard Nicos breathing slowly even out after a few minutes and felt his own self drifting to sleep, dreaming of everything he would say to Nico tomorrow when he had the strength. 

But by the time the son of Apollo woke up to a rising sun, the son of Hades was gone. This too, like watching the stars, felt familiar, but in a way that hurt instead. 

The Battle of Manhattan felt like yesterday, but really it had been last summer. And this summer was not any more relaxed by any sort of the word. In fact, it was probably more hectic.

Percy Jackson had gone missing, Jason Grace had popped up along with his two friends and so many other random happenings had occurred. But none of them really involved Will if he was being quite honest.

It sounds terrible, but no one expected the war to actually get to the camp. But Will was discovering Romans were weird as heck. And bloodthirsty. The camp was a mess, everyone preparing to fight. Will didn't understand why the Romans couldn't just send over a strongly worded letter. But he would still fight with his camp. 

Him, Lou Ellen, and Cecil were given the task of trying to stop the enemy in whatever form they could. Real specific. But they took the task with gusto. They dressed in black with black lipstick, courtesy of Lou Ellen, as war paint. 

"Okay, so if we can stop an onager, we can help out a whole lot!" Lou Ellen said optimistically. Will was not impressed. 

"Well duh, Lou, but how do you propose we do that?" Cecil took the words right out of his mouth. She was stumped. "Uh, go for it and hope all goes well?" She said uncertainly. Will and Cecil looked at each other and shrugged, it was a better idea than they would have come up with. So that's how they ended up crawling about the ground, trying to find the perfect spot to start their war on an onager. 

That was when Will Solace saw Nico di Angelo. And he didn't think. He just ran. "Nico!" He screamed. Nico whipped around, his sword in hand ready to kill someone. His face quickly turned from that of a warrior to that of a ten year old boy he once was. Will ran into him with a hug that could've forced down a four hundred pound grizzly bear, never mind a weakened, tiny Nico. But neither Nico nor Will cared. Will laid on top of the smaller boy, careful to hold up much of his weight as to not harm Nico and Nico… well Nico just tucked his face into Wills crook made for him, inhaling his best friends scent. 

Lou Ellen's call of "Hey, there's a war going on!" brought a smiling Will Solace to his feet as he yanked up a red faced Nico di Angelo. Will looked at Nico and- oh my gods, when did this happen? Sure, Nico looked exhausted and like he could collapse at any moment (which he would be getting a very firm talking to about) but he was still a thing of beauty. Raven hair in thick curls that kept swooping into caramel eyes and a jaw line that could make a cut Will might now even be able to stitch or heal right ( Will could stitch anything of course but damn that jaw line was a thing of wonders to the golden haired boy) Will quickly shook his head and remembered the task at hand. 

"We want to stop the onager, any ideas?" Nico looked flustered for a moment longer before he went back into warrior mode. Nico explained a quick plan that involved Cecil's acute ability to mess up and Lou Ellen's brilliant skills of The Mist. Left and right the first onager was destroyed as the Fifth Cohort continued to rage on. Will could only stare at Nico though. He was majestic in his abilities. He was light on his feet and smart, avoiding little tricks and mishaps that the normal person wouldn't even consider. He payed so much attention to his old companion that he didn't notice the many Romans gaining in him. He went into action, running in this direction and that until he turned back to see all of them on the ground in varying positions of pain and Nico looking at Will with a triumphant smile. 

"My knight in shining armor", Will sighed out dramatically while smiling right back at Nico. The raven haired boys face turned a shade of rose and mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "c'mon sunshine". 

Will almost cried right then and there, but they had bigger things to worry about. 

The two best friends (former? Will wondered) turned to see the little runt Octavian going off on a spiel and sending dog headed warriors their way. So Will did the only thing he could do in that type of situation. He whistled. And loud. 

Nico turned to him with hands over his ears and a look of amazement and awe. Will puffed out his chest (although he would never admit that out loud) and nodded towards the dog-men on the ground. Nico quickly stabbed them, watching them disintegrate before their very eyes. Octavian walked over to Nico and Will braced himself to swing at the little creature that liked to claim he came from Apollos legacy. 

"Tell me, son of Pluto, why are you helping the Greeks? What have they ever done for you?" Will watched Nico struggle for words and hoped he'd say something like "this isn't for all the Greeks, it's for one" and then sweep Will off his feet and forget about the war and live happily ever after. 

But that didn't happen. Instead Nico replied, "I'm helping both camps", through gritted teeth. Octavian argued back, asking what the Greeks could possibly give Nico. And then Nico dared try to say that he was going to leave the camp when this was all said and done, that no one wanted him. 

What 

The 

Heck. 

Will marched right up to Nico, spun him around, and looked him in the eye. "Don't you- don't you dare say that. That no one wants you here. That is a goddamned lied and we both know it. And you push yourself away! Maybe if you got out of that brooding cloud of yours-", at that Nico pushed Will out of the way with a scrunched up face. Will knew he shouldn't have said it as soon as the words were out of his mouth and he knew Nico deserved a very,very big apology, but there were in the middle of a war and Will had other things to worry about. 

Like the fact that the Athena Parthenon had arrived. Will barely payed attention to what the Roman girl was saying, he was, once again, staring at Nico like Apollos kids stared at the sun. He knew it was good, whatever the girl was saying, because of the grin on Nicos perfect little- wait, what?

Will shook his head, Nico was his (former? still not sure) best friend! He couldnt go around calling him perfect! 

But as soon as some good started, some bad began again. The ground shook as Mother Earth spoke of the dangerous times ahead. And so the battle raged forth.

But no one seemed to notice when Octavian was doing some more idiotic things. The blonde rolled his eyes and sprinted to Nico, whispering "Octavian" in his ear and grabbing his hand, pulling the dark haired boy in tow. Octavian was trying to kill himself in the name of looking like he saved all. And as everything in a blur, Will watched Nico let his relative blow himself up. And he didn't really feel all that bad. 

And in a blur, once again, Will somehow found himself in the infirmary, treating patient, after patient, after patient. His fingers moved swift over bones and stitches and it all felt too familiar. Days passed by fast, but each day passed with out a certain Italian in the building. Nico. Nico had hugged that Roman Reyna girl at the dinner and had avoided him the whole time. Did this mean that the final straw was up? That Nico truly didn't want to be Wills friend? He didn't know. 

So he waited. 

He did his job in the infirmary and listened to Nicos chants of prayer to the dead from the window of the infirmary and let those words guide him through the process of healing so many. It was like Nicos calm voice was created just for Wills ears. 

Finally, Will got a day off. And he was fuming.

Nico di fucking Angelo had not visited him once. No breakfast! No hello! No nothing! So Will marched right down to Hades cabin and knocked, real hard and real long, until the door swung open to reveal a frightened looking Hades boy. And Will had a whole speech prepared as to why Nico was the worst and why Nico sucked as a best friend and as a person and why he should stay at camp and so many questions for the dark haired boy, but forgot all of that the moment he saw the kid. 

So, Will kissed Nico. 

It wasn't very smooth like in the movies, but it was warm. Nicos lips were slightly chapped and Will had his hand clasped behind Nicos neck and Nico was on his tip toes and their noses bumped a little and no, it wasn't going to go down in the history of kisses as one with the best form, but Will would be damned if it didn't go down as one of the most perfect kisses ever because he was finally kissing his little dark figure he had met so long ago. 

They didn't deepen it, as they still stood on the porch of number 13s cabin so they separated their lips from each others and Will rested his forehead on Nicos. Will, for once, stopped thinking and let the words flow, like a true child of Apollo, "You, my friend, are not going to leave this camp. In fact, you're going to come with me and we're going to sit in the infirmary for three long days while you rest and after that you'll stay here and- and- and stay because I'm here and you can't leave again-", Will was crying but he couldn't care less because all he wanted was for this beautiful boy in front of him to finally stay. 

And so Nico did. 

He was planning on staying anyways, but he never told Will that. And on strict doctors orders, the two sat for three days straight eating and playing Mythomagic and talking about anything but the war because they had so much time together after this. So, so much time. 

Chiron eventually walked into the infirmary the last night of the three night stay to see Will clasping onto Nico in his sleep with all his might and Nicos face right in his little crook made for him and Chiron prayed to the gods that when the golden haired child woke up the dark haired one would still be there. And when Chiron saw the two sitting next to each other at breakfast along with Percy Jackson and friends, while interlocking their hands and leaning into one another, he knew he would be seeing Nico for a long time. As long as Will was there.


End file.
